Chapter 12 – The Attendant Manifestations of True Repentance
CHAPTER 12
THE ATTENDANT MANIFESTATIONS OF TRUE REPENTANCE
“For these are they WHOSE SINS HE HAS BORNE; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions.” (Mosiah 15:12)
How do you know that your repentance is acceptable to the Lord? This is perhaps one of the most important questions that a person can ever ask. I would like to suggest that if you don’t know whether your repentance is acceptable to the Lord, it is because it isn’t. What actually happens to a person when he truly repents? That is another very important question. In turning to the scriptures you will easily discover the many gifts that accompany true repentance.
Enos, in the process of praying all day and into the night testifies:
“And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, THY SINS ARE FORGIVEN THEE, and thou shalt be blessed. (Enos 5)
Isn’t that interesting. The first thing that the Lord gave to Enos was the perfect knowledge that his sins were forgiven. He knew that his repentance was acceptable to the Lord. Was there anything else that happened to him?
And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; therefore MY GUILT WAS SWEPT AWAY. (Enos 6)
Not only did the Lord forgive his sins but he took away the guilt complex.
There just happens to be a profession of people in the world that are trained to deal with the guilt complex. It seems to be at the root of many emotional problems. Even members of the church have been seduced by their false theories. There are two ways to deal with a guilt complex. The first one is the way that Enos handled his. He went to the Lord in mighty prayer and confession and the Lord took it away by gift. That’s quite a price to pay, isn’t it? Others would rather pay fifty dollars an hour and then end up with nothing but Satan’s method. How does Satan get rid of a guilt complex? Perhaps this experience (and there are hundreds of thousands of these cases) will demonstrate.
One of my friends got involved in immoral behavior. The process went on for a number of years. Finally he sought professional help. His psychiatrist advised him that his moral code was too strict. He would have to lower his moral code in order to get rid of the guilt. He also suggested that his abnormal activities were not so abnormal after all, depending on your moral code.
I don’t know whether this particular psychiatrist was a Latter-Day Saint or not. If he was he needed his head examined. If you have a guilt complex I strongly suggest that you talk to the Lord as Enos did and it won’t cost you fifty dollars an hour. Satan’s counsel is just a bit over-priced, don’t you think?
What else did Enos experience?
Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to FEEL A DESIRE FOR THE WELFARE OF MY BRETHREN, the Nephites; wherefore, I DID POUR OUT MY WHOLE SOUL UNTO GOD FOR THEM. (Enos 9)
How do you like that? Enos has just finished praying all day and into the night and he is now consumed with a desire for the welfare of his brethren so he prays again. This time he prays for his brethren. How many people do you have on your prayer list?
After the Lord answered Enos’ prayer for his brethren Enos then testified:
And after I, Enos, had heard these words, MY FAITH BEGAN TO BE UNSHAKEN IN THE LORD…. (Enos 11)
As the winding up scene gets closer and closer and Satan rears his ugly head more and more, how would you like to meet your problems with faith that was incapable of being shaken? Besides the REMISSION OF SINS, what other gifts and manifestations did Enos experience?
HIS GUILT WAS SWEPT AWAY
HE FELT AN INTENSE DESIRE FOR THE WELFARE OF HIS BRETHREN
HIS FAITH BEGAN TO BE UNSHAKEN IN THE LORD
Inherent in the above was the capacity to receive personal revelation. Enos mentioned three attendant gifts. It is my conviction that he experienced many more that he did not include in his short writing. Perhaps you’ll see why.
Let’s move forward to the people of King Benjamin and see what they experienced in addition to the remission of sins.
After a portion of the sermon which the angel gave king Benjamin had been delivered) and after an instant replay of the people’s sins had been shown) and after the one sentence prayer, it is recorded:
And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were FILLED WITH JOY, having received a remission of their sins, and having PEACE OF CONSCIENCE,…. (MOSIAH 4:3)
You see, their guilt was swept away also.
After King Benjamin’s portion of the sermon he sent among them to see if they believed what he had spoken. This was their reply:
And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, WE BELIEVE ALL the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also WE KNOW of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has WROUGHT A MIGHTY CHANGE in us, or in our hearts, that WE HAVE NO MORE DISPOSITION TO DO EVIL, but TO DO GOOD CONTINUALLY.
And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, HAVE GREAT VIEWS OF THAT WHICH IS TO COME: and were it expedient we could PROPHESY of all things.
And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great KNOWLEDGE, whereby we DO REJOICE with exceeding great JOY. (Mosiah 5:2-4)
What were the attendant gifts when the Spirit of the Lord fell upon them?
JOY
PEACE OF CONSCIENCE
BELIEF IN THE SERMON
KNOWLEDGE OF ITS TRUTH
THE MIGHTY CHANGE
NO MORE DISPOSITION TO DO EVIL, but
TO DO GOOD CONTINUALLY
GREAT VIEWS OF THE FUTURE
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
You’ll notice that all of these gifts came as the result of the capacity to receive personal revelation through the manifestations of the Spirit. These are just a few more of the things that the Lord does when we properly repent. But there are more.
Listen as Mormon adds to the list:
And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
And the remission of sins bringeth MEEKNESS, and LOWLINESS OF HEART; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with HOPE and PERFECT LOVE, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come) when all the saints shall dwell with God. (Moroni 8:25-26)
These short verses are two of the most penetrating in Holy Writ. In them Mormon adds to the attendant gift list. What are they?
MEEKNESS
LOWLINESS OF HEART
PERFECT LOVE
HOPE
Did you notice what preceded these gifts? Wasn’t it repentance, baptism and keeping the commandments? Let’s see if we can find any more to add to the list. Even these will not complete the list. Do you remember the gift that was given on the day of Pentecost?
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost) and began to speak with OTHER TONGUES, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4)
To the above list add the gift of
TONGUES
There is one more that is in desperate need in the church today. It is one that we should covet earnestly. Listen to the Prophet Joseph’s description.
…We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.
Our minds now being enlightened, WE BEGAN TO HAVE THE SCRIPTURES LAID OPEN TO OUR UNDERSTANDINGS, AND THE TRUE MEANING AND INTENTION of their
more mysterious passages REVEALED to us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. (JS 2:73-74 PofGP)
The list of gifts which accompany repentance and remission of sins include the following:
DESIRE FOR YOUR FELLOW MEN
UNSHAKEN FAITH IN THE LORD
JOY
PEACE OF CONSCIENCE
CAPACITY TO BELIEVE
KNOWLEDGE (they knew)
THE MIGHTY CHANGE
SCRIPTURES OPENED TO UNDERSTANDING
NO MORE DISPOSITION TO DO EVIL
TO DO GOOD CONTINUALLY
GREAT VIEW OF THE FUTURE (visions)
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
MEEKNESS
LOWLINESS OF HEART
HOPE
PERFECT LOVE
TONGUES
By now I’m sure that you know whether your repentance has been acceptable to the Lord or not. We have discovered eighteen gifts that attend a remission of sins. I am sure that there are many more. I don’t wish to imply that every person experiences all of these gifts. I know that they do not, but I do know of one individual that has experienced the initial gift — remission of sins. In going down the list he said that he had experienced all of them but two, tongues and visions. That is sixteen of them that attended his repentance. I’m sure that you can anticipate the next question. How many of these gifts have attended your repentance?